Dear Publishing Industry, Just Imagine

...a world where you inspire a generation or a couple generations to fall in love with books all over again. This time by giving your books a voice through technology. If you are thinking: "Not this again..." don't close the tab. Stay a while and brainstorm about this with me for a couple of minutes.

As someone who works in the advertising, which is sometimes tech adjacent, I wish other industries’ innovations would become the status quo for publishing.

I want to see the industry become a leader in all things digital and use technology to celebrate reading. Selfishly, I want this because like all readers out there, I have at least once wished something was better, easier, or faster.

Reward Loyalty - and they will stay.

One thing that many industries have struggled with has been how to reward loyalty. 

Publishers like Penguin Random House are trying to reward shopping behaviors and track data. But the process is clunky and readers are weary of doing extra work. They want you to reward them, not to have to reward themselves.

The Reader Rewards Penguin program where you can earn points for every book you have purchased in the past year is a good start. Buy books, get points. Use points for free books. I mean, for most avid readers that’s actually amazing.  

But, here are the requirements:

As someone who buys books every chance I get, trying to remember when and where each was purchased is a big ask. An even bigger ask is expecting me to have a receipt number. What are the chances I even still have the receipt? Highly unlikely. 

Is there a way to simplify and integrate?

Let users use a branded app to scan the book or the barcode. This will automatically detect the books unique code or QR code and add it to the shelf. 

Publishers are in charge of the creative of each cover which would empower them to add unique, sequential numbers to keep track of the books.

This scanning technology already exists. Amazon and Goodreads have been using it for years to show shoppers in book stores how much cheaper it would be to order online. But the publishing industry could finally use this technology for good, to reward readers who, like myself, buy books everywhere. 

Another way loyalty falls flat for most people is in the fact that points have little value and are rarely exciting. Offering points is not a full strategy. A real rewards program should include a way to get readers involved. It should provide a tool with content and functionality that would bring them back over and over again. 

Readers are passionate. They need to feel involved and invested in the rewards programs beyond points. There needs to be a benefit and value beyond savings. Let them add books, review books, share books, read with friends, make notes on ebooks, get data on everything they read and give them a chance to be the first ones to find out about upcoming events, announcements from authors, and new book releases.

Imagine a Goodreads-like platform that allowed not only the basic functionality that it has now, but also allow friends to read ebooks together.

All of the sudden national and international bookclubs are simple and exciting.

Share the same copy of an ebook with your best friend, get a small notification to see where your friend left off or leave them notes to be revealed at the end of a page, chapter or sentence. 

Allow readers to treat and treasure these ebooks as memories — reopen them whenever they want to relive those memories. Share a book you and your sister read with your child. Allow books to be loved across multiple generations. 

Yes, this is the publishing industry and it bottom lines matter, but if there’s one thing other industries are finding out, it’s that services can be more profitable than retail. Maybe create a subscription model for ebooks that gives them the advantage they need to become a real player in the industry. One that will make people no longer refer to ebooks as “impersonal.” Make ebooks digital and emotional.

Then, after you have engaged them, share the data. Allow users to see their behavior in real time. Give them stats. Real ones.

Goodreads gives some basic stats to their users:

But they have access to so much more data. And if an industry powerhouse like Penguin, or Simon & Schuster or Haper Collins really put their weight behind a program like this, they could make that data beautiful. You can visualize your reading like never before. Image being able to see:

• The genre you read most of and how that has changed over years
• The gender of author you most likely prefer
• The country from which the authors you enjoy are
• The countries where the books you read are set
• How many books you and your friends have in common
• What book you are most likely to enjoy next
• What quotations you have underlined in your ebooks
• What literary themes you are most likely to enjoy
• How fast you usually finish a book
• The most controversial books you have read (based on reviews or press)
• Which author’s works you’ve rated the highest
• Which author's works you’ve completed
• What genres you’ve never explored and what book the platform recommends to start with

Create and visualize a persona for the reader based on their actual reading preferences.

Mine, I would imagine, would sound like this:

"Incurable romantic based on percentage of love stories you have read. Historical fiction is your happy place and female-first fantasies keep you going. Your two favorite authors are P.G. Wodehouse and V.E. Schwab so we recommend you try some Stephen Fry."

It sounds like a dating profile description ready to go. More or less.

A couple of years ago this meme was everywhere.

Imagine if this was true for books. It doesn’t have to be a dating service, maybe more of a buddy system. I have read thousands of reviews where people say: “I need to talk to someone, I have a lot of thoughts” after they’ve finished a book.

Allow people to join a group chat full of other people that have also recently finished the book. Connect readers. Empower them. Readers are a quiet group but we are very emotional and need to talk when our favorite characters’ stories are done.

If every action done by a reader generates a reward and a data point then you have an ecosystem that is addictive. 

Remember to flip the data for authors too: "Here is what you need to know about your readers." 

All of the sudden, you are not a publisher anymore but a friend introducing readers and authors. 

Embrace Bookstagrammers - and get hugged right back.

Bookstagrammers spend hours trying to figure out the best way to promote books expecting nothing in return. (see #bookstagram posts).

Incorporate their talent in your own social media and rewards system. Most accounts for publishing houses don’t have the same quality content. And it’s not a competition. Give your account away. Let bookstagrammers take over for a day or a week. Jump from theme to theme. Give them assignments and cross promote. Reward the best of them and give them perks that will make that position of integrating with a publishing house coveted by all. Allow other bookstagrammers to compete for the privilege. In return get demand for your books and enjoy talent that strives to work with you. People love to see themselves represented by the brands they love.

Promotion - everyone’s invited!

I joined the #Bookstagram community on Instagram 4 years ago and it’s been my go-to way to discover new books. Other than some trailers and GIFs that some publishers post, it is entirely too hard to find books without a community that is 100% invested in sharing, promoting, and reviewing books.

Movies have trailers but books have multi-paragraph long reviews. Not as easily accessible.

Sometimes though they might have trailers. See below:

Exciting, right? It's not the norm though. Not sure why. There has been some speculation though:

And if this is true, it’s a little troubling. Publishing houses need to invest in new kinds of talent to promote their books in new and exciting ways.

Be proud, use short videos to make your case. Some accounts have started to:

But even they have a hard time reaching everyone.

I am sure that I am not alone here and hope that this post sparks a conversation about publishing and technology that is not taboo or obnoxious. I hope it sparks excitement and inspiration for the future of the publishing industry from people that are ready for change.

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I write about my quest to overcome my to-be-read pile by reading, gifting, and writing about books on my Instagram account @bookoffee